This year’s Super Bowl felt like an underdog’s fairytale, with touchdowns on birthdays, heartbreak in glittering satin and a collective experience that, for a moment, brought us all together. But if the game itself was a story of triumph and defeat, the ads told a different kind of story—one that was chaotic, divisive and occasionally made my brain hurt. It made me wonder: what’s the real goal of securing a commercial spot during one of the biggest events in America? Is it to sell a product? Build a brand? Go viral? Or is it just to leave us all slightly bewildered?
Martha Stewart breakdancing for Skechers was an interesting choice. Smart targeting? Sure. A clever way to show off their slip-ons? Maybe. But let’s be real—the true MVP here was AI. A certain age demographic might believe she actually pulled off those backflips and if that’s the case, then mission accomplished. Skechers know their audience and they leaned into it. Whether it worked is another question entirely, but I’ll give them credit for trying.
The best ad of the night, though, was Stitch tearing across the football field, dodging defenders like he had something to prove. The timing was perfect, airing right before actual gameplay and making the interruption feel real. That was all I needed to pre-buy my ticket for the Lilo & Stitch reboot. Disney knew exactly how to tap into nostalgia while making Stitch feel right at home in the high-energy chaos of game day. If nothing else, they reminded us that some classics never fade.
Doritos took a different approach, holding a competition where Americans voted on their favorite fan-made ad. A fun concept, but their final pick didn’t do it for me. Sure, I believe aliens exist, but why would they want Doritos? It felt like a weak attempt at quirkiness when there was a much stronger option on the table. The goth-themed commercial should have won because, let’s be honest, every school teacher secretly wants to be a goth. Fans had the chance to lean into something unexpected, something culturally interesting and instead, they played it safe.
Then there was the Hims & Hers ad, which might have been the most tone-deaf of the night. First, they remind us that food is unhealthy and healthcare is unattainable. Then, they try to sell off-brand Ozempic while “This Is America” plays in the background. Who exactly was the target audience here? If the goal was to make viewers uncomfortable, they succeeded, but probably not in the way they intended. There’s something unsettling about pairing a product with social commentary that directly contradicts it. If they were aiming for irony, they overshot.
Coffee-mate went for shock value with an ad featuring a giant tongue promoting their new Cold Foam. Disturbing? Yes. Memorable? Absolutely. The same goes for whatever Tubi was doing with that human-skinned cowboy hat. I still don’t fully understand what I was watching, but it got my attention and maybe that was the point. Some brands want to be funny, some want to be inspirational and some just want to haunt your dreams.
The Poppi ad was fine, though it didn’t exactly pull me in—unless they’re planning to roll out a Poppi vending machine, in which case, we can talk. We also got Seal (the singer) performing Kiss From a Rose next to an actual seal, while Becky G stood there awkwardly. Walter Goggins did his thing for Goggins Goggle Glasses, which was an A+ execution. And, of course, we got Harrison Ford driving a Jeep because if there’s one thing Super Bowl ads love, it’s famous people doing completely normal things with overly dramatic music in the background.
At the end of the day, this is what the Super Bowl ad game is all about. It’s a high-budget spectacle of persuasion designed to make you laugh, cringe or question everything over a bag of chips. Some ads nail it, some crash spectacularly and some leave you wondering how many people in a boardroom actually signed off on them. But no matter what, for better or worse, we’re all watching. And that, honestly, might be the real magic of it.
